Every year my wife's family does a round-robin party around Christmas. This year the stop at our house is for relaxation, which means party games and drinks. Since this year I'm hoping to have my bar up and running I was hoping to make some tiki drinks that would fill everyone with x-mas cheer. Any ideas?

if you go by the general rule that tiki = rum in a tropical styled drink:

Egg Nog is very Christmas. Rum spiked Egg Nog is common. I have spiked Egg Nog with a combination of Redrum and 151 Lemon Hart. That's the fruit flavored Redrum, not the Voodoo spiced redrum. It gives a fruity accent to the egg nog and adding a little demerrara gives it a nice kick. Call it Tiki Nog. Go easy on the Demerrara. A little bit goes a long way.

I'm right in there with the Hot Buttered Rum and the Tom and Jerry ideas. Have you thought, though, about the Sidecar? It's a traditional Holiday Cocktail. Try making it with a good rum instead of the brandy (I think Beachbum Berry actually suggested this in one of his books... If he didn't, he should have).

I always thought of hot spiced cider as more of a halloween drink than Christmas. That is probably because when I was a kid my mom often made hot spiced apple cider for the kids as a halloween treat. When I became as adult I added rum, brandy or bourbon to it and drinking one or two of these has become something of a halloween night tradition. My usual recipe...

heat apple cider in a sauce pan with ground cinnamon, allspice and cloves (in decreasing amounts). In a, irish coffee glass add a shot of brandy, bourbon or an aged or spiced rum, a little bit of butter, a teaspoon of benedictine and top off with the hot spiced cider. Use a cinnamon stick as a swizzle. Top with whipped cream and a little nutmeg as a garnish. Very nice!

Thank you all for holiday advice! I'm going to try a few of these before the event. In fact, the wahine's out for the weekend, so after the kids go to bed I think I'll try one or two tonight. _________________Please visit my new website, Leeward Lounge Ukuleles